Computer security has become increasingly more important, particularly in order to protect against malware. Malware generally refers to any malicious computer program. For example, malware may include viruses, worms, spyware, adware, rootkits, and other damaging programs.
Malware may impair a computer system in many ways, such as disabling devices, corrupting files, transmitting potentially sensitive data to another location, or causing the computer system to crash. In addition, malware may be designed to conceal itself from software designed to protect a computer, such as antivirus software. For example, malware may infect components of a computer operating system and thereby filter the information that is provided to antivirus software.